Fragile as a Rose
by LoveLikeThis
Summary: What happens when Draco discovers that Narcissa is not his real mother? Even more troubling... he and Hermione were childhood friends? How come he doesn't remember? And what'll happen when he finally does? DHr
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: not mine

Author's note: The first couple chapters are going to be flashbacks, and in italics, sorry if the italics bug anyone. My first fic, hope you like!

_Flashback_

"_OWWW! Stop that!" cried a little boy with striking platinum-blond hair. An airborne eraser had just bounced off his shoulder. He turned to see that it had been chucked by one of his troublemaking classmates._

"_Sorry… but would you chill, it's just an eraser…" replied the culprit._

_Now, normally, Draco wouldn't give a hoot about an eraser, but he was in a particularly cranky mood this morning due to the fact that he was painfully sore just about everywhere imaginable. You see, his father, Lucius Malfoy, had subjected Draco to several bouts of the Cruciatus Curse on his seven-year-old self the previous evening and Draco had not yet recovered from the assault. _

"_Chill? Chill? You know-nothing twit, don't you dare attempt to give me a command of any sort unless you want to suffer the consequences." hissed the infuriated and tired boy. As you have probably already gathered, Draco has a wee bit of an attitude._

_In the perspective of a random muggle passerby, one might think that Draco was merely a spoiled rich kid that gets chauffeured to and from school in a black stretch limo, and is catered gourmet food by his personal waiter during the school's lunch hour. What a random muggle passerby wouldn't know… is that this spoiled little rich kid has an abusive wizard as a father and that the reason he was sent to a muggle elementary school was because he hasn't shown any magical abilities yet. Lucius seems oblivious to the fact that cursing the dickens out of the poor boy won't do anything to speed up the magical process. _

"_All right… all right… I didn't mean nothin' by it…" responded Curtis-the-eraser-chucking-boy with his hands in the air, his stance giving away his fear of angering Draco despite his apparent devil-may-care attitude._

_In the wizarding world, it is common knowledge that the majority of marriages between purebloods are arranged. This was the case between the marriage of Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black. It was not common knowledge, however, that Narcissa Black was infertile, and thus, could never produce an heir for the Malfoy bloodline._

"_Would the both of you please stop arguing so I can introduce a new student?" Sighed Mrs. Bradford exasperatedly after silently stalking up behind Curtis and Draco._

"_Ok, now that we've got that settled, will everyone please go back to their seats? Yes yes, that includes you too Mr. Morris. No not that seat! Your _assigned _seat thank you very much." Mrs. Bradford went on as she looked endearingly at her annoying bunch of second graders. _

"_Shush you all and let me introduce our newest student… Miss Hermione Granger! She is a transfer student and just moved here from Switzerland. Now, I want all of you to treat her _nicely _and with respect. Also, it would do well to help make her feel welcome and at home. This means, not pestering or picking on her." Glaring pointedly at the handful of meddlesome boys in the class._

_Of course, leaving no heir to the Malfoy name was simply not an option. Telling the other upper-class purebloods was not a possibility either. For it would bring shame upon their family, and kill off any chance of raising an heir while convincing all others it was the true child of both Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. _

_This, of course, is what they did._

_Lucius could not impregnate another pureblood without word getting round to them all. (You see, all women, even aristocratic-high-and-mighty pureblooded women, tend to gossip incessantly.) Due to this reason alone, he lived a double life for quite some time. He created an entirely new persona as he posed as a simple businessman living in muggle London. While keeping Narcissa to the confines of the mansion, Narcissa herself understanding the importance of this exploit, did not utter a word to anyone, not even her own parents. All in all, she wanted to keep her own dignity intact as well, though… whether or not she actually achieved it is debatable._

_She was the perfect specimen: a muggle with beautiful strawberry blonde hair, a pretty face complete with big blue eyes, a delicate pert nose, and full pouting lips, Chelsea Bowman was her name. The poor girl fell madly in love with Lucius and, well, who could blame her? Lucius was a strapping young lad with beautiful white-blond hair in his prime. Add that on top of his advances (And fake personality.), what self-respecting girl could resist? Unfortunately for this Chelsea girl, after they "fell in love", got "married", and got pregnant, Lucius waited till the baby was finally born, made sure it was a healthy boy, then promptly killed his "wife" on the spot, taking the baby back to the Malfoy Manor with him. His two-year absence had been chalked up to him needing to be away on… business. What kind of business you ask? Well, no one really dared to ask._

_And thus, baby Draco was born._


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: In my mind, Draco is mine all mine! But unfortunately, we do not all live in my mind.

Author's note: I should be writing my AP book report on Wide Sargasso Sea instead of this. It's due tomorrow for goodness' sake! But this is just so much more entertaining haha. Hope you guys enjoy! Reviews are always welcome… hint hint… wink wink… nudge nudge…

_Still flashing back_

_Draco was literally falling asleep sitting upright while Mrs. Bradford droned on and on about proper so-called "new student etiquette". He mentally rolled his eyes when Mrs. Bradford said (for the fourth time), "and finally, here is Miss Hermio-," before she cut off once again into another agonizingly boring lecture about immature boys playing improper pranks._

_Finally, (seriously this time) she moved aside as the young bushy-haired girl stepped out from behind the teacher's puffy blue ankle length skirt._

"_Yeuch… Annie! Look at that new girl's scruffy shoes and overalls. Does she not know how to dress herself? And don't get me started on that trashy old bear!" Lisa Walters, the self-pronounced queen of the second grade, whispered scathingly over to her devoted follower, Annie Clemens._

_Draco's breath caught in his throat as he almost lost himself in the endless depths of the new girl's deep brown eyes. **She's pretty, **was the first thought that occurred to him as he let out a small "Oh"._

_**She has so much hair…** Cedric Pamplin thought absentmindedly as he chewed on the end of his pencil, despite his parent's urging for him to stop this bad habit. **Hmm… looks like fun to pull…**_

_Her bushy mane of unruly chestnut brown hair fell in her face, hiding half of it away from view. Still yet, Draco could see her milky white skin, with a dust of light freckles scattered over her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. They were almost completely hidden, however, by the prominent blush currently gracing her otherwise pale complexion. She was wearing a white tee with little pink flowers around the collar and light blue overalls. The girl was also holding a tattered old brown teddy bear with a floppy Christmas hat and scarf on it's head… and by the looks of it she was holding on to it so tightly that the bear's head (poor thing) was within an inch of bursting and sending cotton flying all over the place. _

_Mrs. Bradford signaled to a seat near the back of the classroom for Hermione to take, but it seems as if her feet were incapable of movement at the moment. Mrs. Bradford ultimately ended up ushering the girl to the seat herself._

_Hermione was not the prettiest girl in the room by far, not with all the well-groomed girly girls in the class. She was, however, the picture of innocence; the most adorable girl in the room indefinitely, the way she held all her emotions on her sleeve was so different than all the other talkative airheads with no real emotions to begin with, that she immediately hooked Draco's usually fleeting attention._

_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_

"_Watch out!" exclaimed Draco as he flung Hermione to the grass. "Oomph!" Draco groaned as a football hit him square in the chest. He clutched his hands to where he was hit and promptly sat down on his little tush while he tried to get the air back into his lungs._

_It was recess and about two thirds of the boys in the class up and organized an impromptu football game on the field. Most of the girls gathered around Lisa to chatter and gossip, but one girl went to introduce herself to Hermione. _

"_Hi! My name is Vivian Jew. You're Hermione right? Of course you are, Mrs. Bradford introduced you in class. You just moved here right? Where is Switzerland anyway? I've always wanted to visit… well ok not always but I'm for traveling anywhere, my family always goes somewhere new each summer…" Hermione was soon dizzy as the girl, Vivian, went on and on and eventually ended up muttering to herself about absolutely nothing. _

_Vivian was a short, mousy little girl with a gap in her smile because she just lost a baby tooth. She had light brown hair and stunning hazel eyes. She was outspoken, but wasn't really 'in' with the 'in-crowd'. _

_Vivian stopped chattering when she saw the frightened look on her new prospective friends' face. _

"_Sorry… I'm a bit… talkative. Heheh…" Vivian and Hermione spent the rest of recess talking and getting to know each other. They became quick friends (though Hermione was still a bit reserved) and were walking around the field laughing when all of a sudden Draco pulls pelts over to them and pushes Hermione to the ground. _

_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_

_Draco had been watching Hermione all recess. He didn't really have any friends at school because his father made sure of that by forcing him to switch school often. Lucius didn't want Draco to have the opportunity to get close with any lowly muggles, and believes that by constantly moving Draco around, he couldn't possibly make any close friends, let alone keep them. Draco succumbed to his father's wishes and willingly transferred schools. He never let himself get close to anyone, but something about Hermione simply entranced him. When Draco saw that a football was making it's way toward the two chattering girls, he acted on impulse._

_He forgot about the whole aching-every-which-way thing that resulted from the Cruciatus Curse._

_Once he caught his breath, he opened his eyes to see big brown one's hovering inches from his face. Hermione looked down at him worriedly and, after sending a death glare to the boys who threw the cursed ball, instantly started fussing about: asking if he was ok, and how come he winced whenever he moved, and why he was clutching to his chest like it was the last piece of chocolate left in the universe. See, Hermione's parents were ginormous worrywarts and apparently passed on that trait to their only daughter._

_As Hermione helped Draco to his feet, she couldn't help but notice that he was carrying himself rather carefully, as if any sudden or unnecessary movement would have dire consequences._

"_I'm fine." _

"_No, you're not."_

"_I am perfectly capable of walking by myself." Draco said this out of pride and dignity. The fact that someone thought him unable to walk for himself was a hit to his ego. On the flipside… Hermione's gentle hands around his shoulders felt oddly comforting and… rather nice._

"_Fine." Hermione sighed out as she instantly removed herself from under his arm._

_The brief flash of hurt that passed through her eyes immediately caused Draco to regret what he had said. _

"_I'm sorry… just… not used to people fussing over me that is. It's quite flustering really, especially when that person doesn't even know my name."_

_Vivian stood off to the side with eyes as wide as saucers. She had never ever heard that boy speak a full sentence unless he was biting the head off someone._

_Hermione looked back at her and motioned that she was going to sit with Draco under the shade of an orange tree. She called Vivian to come join them, but Vivian waved away the suggestion, noting the glare coming from a certain blond-haired boys direction, threatening that she make good on Hermione's offer._

_Vivian smiled as she watched Hermione and Draco spend the rest of recess sitting there, just talking and eating the oranges that Hermione pulled off the branches of the tree. They, of course, talked briefly over how Hermione had many trees in her backyard, and how she particularly enjoyed climbing up into a certain guava tree when she played hide-and-seek with her brother._

_This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship._


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Mmhmmm… right.

Author's note: Hey there kids. Wrote this in my bio class to keep myself from falling asleep… God I hate bio… anyhow. Here goes! Don't forget to review!

Stilllll flashing back 

_He was, to say the least, shocked. Once the deafening, but oh-so-sweet sound of the last bell echoed through the room, Hermione and Draco began walking together toward the school parking lot where they would be picked up. Right before she hopped into the backseat of her mother's minivan, Hermione launched herself at Draco, engulfing him in a giant Hermione bear hug. She failed to notice him wince at her sudden assault. Nonetheless, he quickly recovered and couldn't help but melt into the embrace._

"_Bye!" she muttered as she let go to plant herself comfortably in the car, and, Draco noticed, taking special care to assure that the seatbelt was proper fastened._

_She waved at him through the back window as her mum pulled out from the parking lot._

_He smiled to himself, as he looked around for Chives, his chauffeur. _

_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_

"_So dear… who was that boy in the parking lot hmm?" Hermione's mother questioned with a faint smile gracing her lips. _

"_Oh… well… his name is Draco Malfoy. He's my new friend! I met him at recess today. He's really nice!"_

"_Well I'll be… my shy little Hermione has already made a new friend! On the first day too!" _

"_Mum please…"_

"_Well you must admit, you ARE normally painfully shy around new faces. Can't say the same when you're with your family and old friends though… you're positively strident!" chuckled Jane Granger as her daughter sat in a huff in the backseat until they arrived home. _

"_CODY!" Hermione yelled up the stairs at her older brother. Cody was 17 and didn't have any magical abilities. He was Hermione's 'bestest friend in the whole wide world' because it him with whom she'd spend most of her time with. Her parents were often at work or away on business trips, leaving Cody to care after his baby sister._

"_What is it kiddo? Is something wrong?" Cody worriedly asked as he jumped the last two steps of the stairs. _

"_No, nothing's wrong. Mum was just poking fun at me in the car about a boy I met. But I really do wanna talk to you." His little sister said as she looked up at him with the big brown puppy eyes she knew would get her just about anything from her brother/parents. _

"_Ooohh… a boy? Got yourself a little boyfriend there Hermione?" Cody smiled teasingly at her._

_Hermione blushed red, but quickly responded, "You have no idea what you're talking about! Don't go and pull another mum or… or else… the next time your girlfriend comes over while you're babysitting me I'm gonna tell mum! HA!" by the time she finished her little tirade her voice was fairly loud and she had a big triumphant grin plastered on her face._

"_OK, OK! Would you shush a bit already! God, my little sister has me wrapped around her little finger, and she knows it too." He jested while hanging and shaking his head dejectedly. "So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about eh?"_

"_I… well you see I… err… I found… I was wondering what you… oh bloody hell… forget it!" Hermione gave up trying to explain herself._

"_Whoa ho! Look at the mouth on this one!"_

"_Picked it up from you! Aren't you proud?"_

"_Haha well, when you're able to form a coherent sentence, I'll be here for ya kiddo."_

"_Promise?"_

"_Promise."_

_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_

_Over the next few weeks, Hermione and Draco spent nearly the entire school day together. Of course, oftentimes Vivian would join them. Hermione and Vivian were differently on so many levels, but they got on just fine all the same. Hermione became as close to Vivian as she was close to Draco. Hermione and Draco spent all the recesses together while Vivian spent some time with her old friends. Vivian went over to Hermione's house after school let out because her parents didn't get off work till five and Hermione's parents would not hear of letting the girl do homework all alone at school while waiting to get picked up. The three of them spent the lunchtimes together while sitting in the shade of the orange tree on the field._

"_Draco! Don't eat that! At least not now!" Draco and Hermione were sitting together in the back corner of the classroom. Hermione was paying apt attention at Mrs. Bradford. That is, until she heard the crinkling sound of a candy wrapper. She looked over at Draco and saw, to her horror, that he was all set to pop a tootsie roll into his already open mouth! "If you keep eating those your teeth are going rot away before you're thirty! And by the time you get to the ripe old age of fifty you're gonna have to wear DENTURES! Besides which, it's ten minutes to lunch! You're going to spoil your appetite! And that's not good for a healthy growing boy! Give me that!" she snatched Draco's snack away from him and stuffed it back in it's half-torn wrapper._

"_Hey!" Draco exclaimed as he glared daggers at the annoying girl sitting by him. He couldn't really be mad at her though. It's not like he minded her nagging all that much. Draco never had someone care so much about his well being, and, though irritating at times, still touched him. _

"_You can have it _after _you finish your lunch. And _only _if you promise me you'll brush your teeth the instant you get home." Hermione insisted._

"_Yes _mum." _Draco muttered while rolling his eyes._

"_Humph! It's for your own good and you know it!" She whispered fiercely to her friend._

"_I know I know, and I really do appreciate you taking care of me. But honestly, I'm seven years old! I should think I could take care of myself!"_

"_Did you hear what you just said? Besides, girls mature faster than boys. It's just a scientific fact." Hermione responded smugly, with her arms crossed and her nose slightly tilted upwards._

_Their bickering had no real venom behind it, it was just their way of flirting, whether they knew it or not. Now, I am aware that they are only in the second grade. But don't you remember all the crushes you had in elementary school? Even if the crushes hardly amounted to anything serious at that age, it doesn't by any means mitigate its importance._

_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_

"_Ugh. I give up Hermione. I'm never going to get this. It's not like I'll ever use math anyhow." Draco whined pitifully as he stretched out on the grass beside Hermione and his math homework._

_It was lunchtime and the two were by themselves seeing as Vivian had detention for letting her temper get the better of her. Lisa Walters had been making fun of Vivian for her mismatched socks the previous afternoon. Vivian was more angry than hurt, and, for revenge, on the bus to school that morning, (due to budget cuts the school didn't provide transportation home in the afternoons, only in the mornings) Vivian just so happened to be eating a pack of gummy bears. Lisa Walters just "happened" to sit in the sit in front of her and, by the time Lisa got off the bus, she had headless gummy bears sticking to her precious blonde hair. It had taken her an entire hour to figure out that the chuckles and points were directed at her. She automatically, of course, remembered who was sitting behind her, seeing as she had thrown a snide look over her shoulder at Vivian before throwing herself into a giggle-filled gossip session with Annie._

_Vivian now had table wipes for detention._

"_Are you kidding me Draco? Of COURSE you're going to need this in the future. Just, maybe you should take a break for a little bit, then we can start on it again. I swear I'm going to drill this stuff into your head if it's the last thing I do." Hermione said while prodding Draco in his side, making sure he was awake._

"_OK OK… just… give me five minutes to recharge my poor brain." Draco slurred with his eyes still closed._

_Hermione let out a huge yawn as she succumbed to Draco's wishes. As she lay down beside him, she fell asleep almost instantly as well._

_They stayed that way until a counselor came and found them._

Author's note: hey there folks, I SWEAR all this has a point. Just bear with me for a while! Umm… and also, I have a crapload of homework from all my classes nearly everyday. God, AP/IB/Honors classes can really eat away at your time. So, you can probably expect an update every week or so, max two weeks I promise. Oh yes, and reviews wouldn't hurt!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: not mine Still flashing back 

"_Chives? Is it all right if I go to Hermione's house today? Pleeeaaaase? She's already invited me over a couple times but I always said I couldn't. You don't HAVE to tell father, he doesn't notice whether or not I'm home half the time anyhow. Really! Thanks! Well, she invited me for dinner so I guess you can pick me up around… 8 o' clock? Ok, here's her address…"_

_Draco was ecstatic. Hermione had been helping him with his math homework for a week or two now and was getting a bit peeved that he couldn't ever go over to study in the comfort of her own house. He had a feeling that if he turned down her offer yet again she wouldn't ask him anymore, so when Chives silently nodded 'yes', Draco couldn't help but let his face split into a wide, slightly lopsided grin. Running over to Hermione the next morning, he quickly told her to good news and was enveloped in a big hug. Draco, Hermione, and Vivian spent the day together, eating a lunch of baloney sandwiches and washing it down with mango juice._

_After the bell rang, Draco and Hermione walked to the parking lot to find not her parents, but her brother Cody in the car. _

"_Cody!" Hermione flung her arms around her brother's neck through the open window, tip-toeing so she could reach. " What're you doing here? Where's mum?" Hermione asked Cody as she hopped into the backseat, scooting over to make room for Draco._

"_Mum and Dad had to work late at their dentist's office today, apparently, a bunch kids are getting a head start on their Halloween candy."_

"_Oh, when will they ever learn? All candy does is make you fat and rot your teeth! Goodness gracious… Oh! Sorry Draco, this is my brother Cody, he's the best brother in the whole wide world!" Cody looked back and gave her an embarrassed smile as he reversed the car out of the parking space. "And Cody, this is Draco. Be nice!" She added warningly as Cody noted Draco's name. She just knew Cody was going to tease her about this to no end!_

"_Hi Cody." Draco muttered shyly._

"_Hey kid. Now, I have to ask, what are your intentions with my baby sister eh?" _

_Draco looked highly uncomfortable and looked to Hermione, only to find that her face now resembled a cherry._

_Cody chuckled to himself and said, "Just joking kid, ease up, I won't bite!" _

_Hermione and Cody spent the rest of the ride home chattering about their days, both trying to include Draco in the conversation, but Draco seemed intent on just listening. Draco was intrigued by the close relationship Hermione had with her brother, and the ease with which they could talk to each other with. _

_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_

"_Do you get it?" Hermione asked Draco for the twelfth time that afternoon._

"_Sorta kinda…" _

"_Ok then, let's go over this again… the problem says that Jenny has three apples, so if Colin eats…"_

_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_

_By six o' clock, dinner was ready. Cody had the amazing ability to order Chinese takeout. Draco found himself enjoying eating an easy dinner on the floor of the family room, watching TV (don't forget! Draco was raised as in a muggle community until he finally showed signs of magical prowess! ) while leaning back against the couch. Draco had finally grasped the idea of double-digit multiplication! He and Hermione had spent the better part of the afternoon doing and going over the homework, so dinner was a welcome relief for them both. _

_After dinner, the two of them decided to play videogames until Chives came to pick up Draco._

"_AHA! I got you now! Surrender to my wrath! Muahahaha!" It seems that Draco had finally overcome his shyness._

"_Oh don't you DARE! I beat you the first seven times… I can do it again!" Hermione yelled back as she leaned her entire body with the direction her controller was going. _

_Draco saw her crinkle her eyebrows and purse her lips in concentration. He decided that one more win for her wouldn't be a big deal, so he pretended to mess up and she escaped and zoomed to the finish._

"_YES! Booyah! That makes what… 8 times now Draco?" Hermione leaned back on the couch and sighed contently._

"_Yeah, haha, eight times. Guess I have to come over and practice some more huh?" _

Hermione just looked over at him and smiled.

_All of a sudden, the doorbell rang, completely ruining the moment._

Draco and Hermione looked up suddenly and realized that Chives was here. Draco packed up his stuff to leave; he quickly pecked Hermione on the cheek before scurrying out the door as fast as he could.

She just stood there, shocked, for a good two minutes or so. When she finally gathered her bearings, she touched her hand to her cheek, and smiled softly. Hermione unplugged the videogame and went up to shower and brush her teeth before bed.

_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_

Getting a good night's sleep was just about impossible that night. He kept tossing and turning, thinking about what he so hastily decided to do. What if she avoided him now? What if she didn't like him back? After a few hours of debating with himself, he decided that what's done is done and there was nothing he could do about it, so there was no point stressing over it. Of course, he still stressed over it after telling himself that.

The next morning, he was both anxious and dreading to go to school.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hermione walked up to Draco the next day before class started.

"Hi Draco." Hermione said timidly with her head down, but her eyes looking up at him.

"Hi Hermione." Draco smiled lightly.

She smiled back as she lifted her chin and stepped closer. She hugged him, but before she let him go she kissed him on the cheek. She looked at him meekly to watch his reaction. His eyes were wider than she'd ever seen them and his mouth was slightly open.

Hermione, highly amused by his reaction, swiftly snatched his hand and pulled him into class.

Vivian left near the beginning of lunch because she sensed something different between her two friends.

"Hey what's up with you two?"

"Helloooo… earth to Hermione! Draco? Ugh… whatever happened, you just know I'm going to find out eventually anyway so you might as well just fill me in now!"

"Come on… please?"

"What's with the goofy smiles?"

Vivian gasped. "Oh my god, no… wait… what? Ugh!"

"You know what? I'm just gonna go eat with Eileen, and when you guys miss me, and you are definitely gonna miss me, tough!"

Hermione and Draco, usually outspoken and opinionated, stayed fairly silent, neither willing to tell Vivian anything about anything. She finally gave up and went to eat with some of her other friends.

The two ate the rest of their lunch in a companionable silence, both sneaking looks when they thought the other wasn't looking.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Draco went home and spent all afternoon coming up with something special to do for Hermione. Math wasn't Draco's strongest subject, but he really did enjoy English. After a couple of hours, a mountain of balled up pieces of paper, many, many cross-outs and rewrites, he finally finished his poem. He knew it was corny, but he was very proud of himself for coming up with it all on his own.

"Hermione! Come sit down over here. I got a surprise for you!" He ordered Hermione to sit down under their guava tree.

After she got comfortable, Draco busted out a rose from behind his back and held it out for Hermione to grab. Absolutely stunned, it took her a little bit to actually reach out and take the flower.

Draco then took out a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it…

"_Your smile,_

_As fragile as a rose on snow._

_Your blush,_

_Tinted with a rosy pink glow._

_Your eyes,_

_Are holding up my world._

_Your laugh,_

_Crinkled eyes and sweet lips curled._

_You,_

_Mean more to me than you'll ever know._

I'll hold on tight and never let you go."

Draco gave Hermione the poem, but before she took it, she lunged at him and they both fell over on the grass.

"Draco! That's the sweetest thing that anyone has ever ever ever done for me! I didn't know you liked to write? Do you like to write? I-I…" but Hermione suddenly stopped speaking, preferring to snuggle her head in the crook of his neck, just hugging him.

"I like you a lot Hermione. Umm… will you, will you be, be my… well you see, what I wanted to ask was, will you be my gir-… my girlfriend…?" Draco finally stuttered out.

All Hermione could do was nod her head yes.

They held hands all the way back to class.

Author's note: I've deleted and re-uploaded chapter 4 just about a billion times, but fanfiction for some odd reason, won't let me italicize half the story. But just so ya know, it's supposed to ALL be italicized… ugh this is so annoying! Anyhow, hope you like it and review!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer!: HAHAha… that's funny.

Author's note: SO SORRY for the late update… school's been hectic and so much other junk going on ughh… but! Be proud… I raised my math grade to an A! Booyah : I swear I'll try to update more regularly from now on!

_Still Flashing Back_

"_Cody! Cody!!! CODY!! Where ARE you? I neeeeeed to talk to you right this instant!" Hermione yelled as she burst into the house, flinging the door into the wall while she was at it. "Cody? Where are you?" she was beginning to worry now… Cody never ignored her and she was pretty darn sure he would have heard her screaming her lungs out._

_Vivian's new nanny had dropped Hermione off today. Vivian's parents felt bad giving the Grangers the extra burden of a hyper seven-year old girl but didn't much fancy the idea of their precious angel staying at school all by her lonesome either. Hermione's parents, it seemed, were not able to pick Hermione up from school today, and called the Jew's for a favor. _

_**I am standing in an empty house… all alone… with no one here… not even Cody, and he's ALWAYS here to make sure I'm all right… strange…** Hermione thought to herself._

_RING!!! Hermione jumped about three feet in the air as the phone rang, scaring her out of her wits. She took a couple deep breaths and began walking calmly to the source of her little scare. "_

"_Hello?" Hermione asked into the receiver._

"_Yes is this the Granger residence?" asked a seemingly bodiless voice._

"_Mmhmmm… may I help you?" _

"_How old are you dear?"_

"_Why?" Hermione, always curious but hardly ever so tactless as to keep talking to a complete and total stranger, responded._

"_Well my name is Bessie Smithers, I work at the hospital and I need to contact Jane or Frank Granger. Are they your parents home dear?"_

"_No."_

"_Oh I see… well then ma—"_

_Bessie was cut off by Hermione hastily asking, "Why do you need to contact my parents? Is Cody in the hospital? What happened? Is he ok? Is it serious? What's going on!" **Is this why they couldn't pick me up today? No… the lady said they had to contact them… surely they wouldn't have called if my parents had known… Cody…**_

"It's all right there sweetie just please tell me how I can contact your parents…" 

_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_

_Hermione sat in the waiting room of the hospital, the picture of abject despair. Her beloved brother was lying unconscious in the emergency room, and she couldn't help but feel as if it was partly her fault. She had _known. _She had _known _but didn't tell anyone… and now it could cost her brother his life._

_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_

_Draco was beyond worried when Hermione did not show up for school the next day. He could hardly sit still in class and kept sending furtive glances at the classroom door, hoping beyond hope that she would barge through with her hair all mussed and trying to explain to the teacher about her faulty alarm clock. He knew, however, that chances of that were slim to none._

_He sat with Vivian during lunch, her being almost if not just as worried as he was. They sat side by side not saying a word, both thinking about the bossy, nagging bushy-haired girl they had gotten so used to._

Author's note: Short… I know… but hey? It's something right? Haha I'll update again as soon as I can though. Of course… reviews help!


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